Friday, June 3, 2016

The Romance Reviews - Sizzling Summer Reads! #TRRparty



Join the party June 17th when You Never Could Be will be the featured title!
Play games, win prizes, have some summer fun!!


A passion-fueled encounter in the corridor of a hotel convention room reveals two anguished hearts struggling to reconnect despite life’s difficulties. Will Carlisle, the eye candy of the office, is every woman’s dream, tall, handsome, and dashingly charming. Sara Rozek never guessed he has secretly wanted her for months now. When a bad day falls upon them and Will breaks the reins of his own restraint, she sees the burning passion in his eyes, and there is no denying the mutual attraction. Will and Sara’s start quickly runs awry, and Sara becomes convinced she was played for a fool. Will begs her to listen to him, but she turns away in fear. Can Will mend her broken heart, or will the passion they shared vanish forever?

Excerpt
“Sara.” The voice broke her out of her thoughts and she refocused on the present. “What is going on?”
“Nothing.”
Scarlet appeared as if out of thin air, standing patiently in front of her. “You’re lying.”
“No I’m—”
“Come on, Sara, you know I can see right through you. What’s up?”
She turned away but felt an arm looped through hers. Scarlet pulled her along and promptly seated her on a stool at the bar.
“What can I get you ladies?”
“Two—”
“Patron with a lime, two.” Sara glanced at her friend’s shocked expression before looking into the crowd.
“Okay Jose, spill. What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Their shots arrived and Sara downed hers before Scarlet handed over the money.
“Another.”
“Hold that,” Scarlet said.
Sara met her friend’s gaze, annoyance bubbling in her throat.
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Sara looked away, breathing through the tightening in her chest. “Will’s here.”
“What? You’re kidding, you saw him?”
I did a lot more than see him.
“What happened?”
Sara motioned to the bartender, avoiding a response.
“You believe them, don’t you? Sara, we talked about this, there is no proof. You can’t believe a rumor.”
“It’s not just a rumor.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it happened to me!” She lifted herself out of her seat as the blood rushed to her head. “What they are saying happened in California. That is what happened to me here. How can I not think it’s true?”
“That’s not what happened though, Sara. Not from what you told me, anyway.”
“How can I be sure? Maybe I just got swept up in the whole scenario. The idea of a man like him wanting me for more than just…”
“Stop it. I’m not going to sit here and allow you to destroy something based on a rumor.”
“He was fired, Scarlet!”
“We don’t know for sure the reason, and there is no evidence to say that’s why.”
“We don’t know it wasn’t.”
“Then how do you explain him being here?”
“I don’t know, I—“
“Did you ever think that maybe he’s here to talk to you?”
“I don’t want to talk to him, Scarlet.” The tightening in her chest turned to raw pain. “I can’t—“
“Too bad.” Will’s voice rang through her body and she spun on her heel in surprise. “Because we’re going to talk, and you’re going to listen to me, whether you like it or not.”
“I’m not doing this.” She darted away from the bar.
His hand caught her wrist, preventing her escape. “Sara—“
“Just leave me alone!”

“No!” He moved closer, his body casting a low shadow around her. “Not until you listen.”

On Sale Now!




Movie Review – Pride, Prejudice and Zombies

Five sisters in 19th century England must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies.

Based on the Jane Austen masterpiece as retold by Seth Grahame-Smith , Pride, Prejudice and Zombies the movie boasts to be just like the classic Jane Austen tale, Pride and Prejudice, only with some brain eating zombies thrown into the mix. I found this intriguing and was actually interested in watching the film.

While Pride, Prejudice and Zombies bombed at the box office I none-the-less rented it as soon as it was released On-Demand.

Starring the lovely Lily James, who most recently appeared in the live action
version of Cinderella, and is well known for her role as Lady Rose MacClare on BBC’s Downton Abbey. James shed her blonde tresses and glass slippers for auburn locks and a carefully hidden dagger to portray Elizabeth Bennet.

Also starring Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy, who has a listing of credits but PPZ seems to be his first leading romantic role.

First let me just correct myself. Sorry, Sam, this may have been a leading role but it was certainly not romantic.

So let’s begin. I was disappointed in Pride, Prejudice and Zombies not because it took a beautiful classic tale and threw zombies in the mix, heck no, that’s what I was excited about! But because the results were gawd awful. I could redeem Pride, Prejudice and Zombies if it swayed in either direction but it did not. It was a horrid romance and a pansy horror.

The premise has such potential. The mix of the romance and the horror should have been more enticing. Alas anything salvageable was completely lost in the poorly choreographed fight scenes and dispassionate Victorian speeches.
I was hoping for at the very least a humorous showing of entertainment but the funniest scene was Elizabeth killing Darcy’s zombie flies at the bedside of her sister, Mary.

One of the things I do not understand is why they made such drastic changes to the story. It would have been better suited to keep the main romantic story and mix in the zombies for fun and thrills.

I give the movie a single star for the attempt, but alas a failing in the end.


Look out for my review of the Supernatural Horror Novel Moving In by Ron Ripley


To escape the stress of living in the city and the anxiety of his high pressure job, Brian Roy moves his family to the country. His wife loves the easy living, but Brian hates it…especially when weird things start happening in the house. When he discovers a dead body in the woods and a burial ground in his basement, Brian could never imagine the shocking history of the house or its former occupants that comes to light. 

As his life starts to unravel, Brian isn’t so sure living in the country is going to be the oasis of peace he and his wife expected. Lately, his home has become a haunting den of hell. 





BannerFans.com

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Book Review - Father Of Lies By S.E. England

Supernatural Horror

Blurb- Ruby is the most violently disturbed patient ever admitted to Drummersgate Asylum, high on the bleak moors of northern England. With no improvement after two years, Dr. Jack McGowan finally decides to take a risk and hypnotizes her. With terrifying consequences. 

A horrific dark force is now unleashed on the entire medical team, as each in turn attempts to unlock Ruby's shocking and sinister past. Who is this girl? And how did she manage to survive such unimaginable evil? Set in a desolate ex-mining village, where secrets are tightly kept and intruders hounded out, their questions soon lead to a haunted mill, the heart of darkness...and The Father of Lies. 

Let start with the good. Very authentic, the story was imaginative and researched. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the physical reactions and emotions of the victims of the spiritual attacks. Made me able to feel the terror of the victim. Love it.  The descriptions and overall feel of the story was spooky and engulfing.

That being said, I struggled to finish the book. There are several reason not all of which I will detail. A few weeks ago I went to see Batman versus Superman, not a great film but entertaining. While discussing the movie afterwards, my 11-year-old son and I decided the movie would have been 110% better if they would have just rearranged the flow of the story.  That is how I feel about Father of Lies.

I can be flexible with a nonlinear style of writing, that is until I start getting confused. Using flashback as a way to uncover the past, the truth, piece by piece is a tricky decision for a writer. If overused, in my opinion, it will strangle and kill the piece distracting from the central theme. Unfortunately, I think in this case the authors use of these plot vehicles were not beneficial.

I struggled in identifying the main character. I literally did not know whose story the author was telling. Once I would settle on a character, the author unfortunately would sweep the character away and then only refer to them. Telling me what happened instead of showing. This tactic rarely allowed me to connect to the characters at all.

Lastly, the overuse of exclamations and the constant recounting of events is distracting, insulting, and does not serve the story.

At 75% completion, I was frustrated and ready for the story to end. When I read the last page I was rather disappointed as nothing was resolved and there is a sequel.

In conclusion I didn’t hate the book, I just didn’t love it. Some editing and rearranging would have kept me longer and maybe even convinced me to read the sequel. (2.5 STARS out of 5)




BannerFans.com